Christopher Dock Mennonite High School

Posted: June 19, 2023

The music program at the time was good. The teachers that were good were excellent. Most teachers though would be unqualified to teach at a public institution. I had a couple that even drifted into teaching conspiracy theory as fact. Was told by one guidance councilor that if I admit to being gay they couldn't help me. It is a good institution if you are Mennonite and well connected. I would seriously avoid if not Mennonite. I pray the culture has changed.

Posted: June 19, 2023

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Posted: April 28, 2022

Extremely unclassy kids we had them come out at our baseball field and they showed up blasting music and throughout the game made fun of us.

Posted: April 28, 2022

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Posted: May 21, 2018

No experience with this, but most students are average anyway.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Ignores it in the hopes it will go away unless they are forced to acknowledge issues.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Poor, every year they changed what they were doing. First year it was Christopher Dock as a high school, second year it was merged into one big school with k - 12 and two campuses to cut overhead. This year they changed the grade scale. Always a moving target. The accreditation is also lacking. Not Middle States Accredited or US News ranked. Weak in STEM.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Talking heads approach. Spit it out, test and grade. The school cuts corners on many things including quality textbooks.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Many teachers that are not up to date on modern teaching methods, neither are they rigorous with “old school” methods. Lost in between.

Posted: May 21, 2018

Neutral the religious undertones keep this in check.

Posted: May 21, 2018

You have to lead them to figure anything out. Very passive/aggressive.

Posted: June 27, 2016

I notice that the school often talks about how dedicated and caring the faculty is. That can sometimes sound trite--until you have seen it first-hand. Students tell about teachers who learn of a challenge or difficulty a student is facing, and they stop to pray for that student. In my experience, the teachers here care about their students in the classroom and beyond it. It makes for a unique learning environment when students know a teacher truly cares for them as a person.

Posted: June 27, 2016

It's tempting to answer "too much" to this question, because there is a good amount of homework. However, I believe part of the reason for this is that teachers truly are preparing students for college-level work; they have high expectations, and students must motivate themselves to do the homework or they will fall behind. On the other hand, I have never heard of a teacher here who will not make time for a student who asks for extra help.

Posted: June 27, 2016

The school does an excellent job of integrating faith and academics. Two examples: the way they teach digital citizenship, and the emphasis their athletic teams place on sportsmanship. When these students travel outside the school for field trips, choir tours or other events, people notice a difference in how they behave. That says a lot!

Posted: June 27, 2016

All three of our children have attended here, and I can't say enough about the school, from the academics and faculty who truly care (including one of the best learning support teachers on the planet), to the excellent programs in the arts (Touring Choir trip to Europe) to the athletics, where our kids had tremendous opportunities to play and succeed. The amazing campus is a bonus!

Posted: January 21, 2014

This school is great for you if you have the right last name or are loaded. There is a strong cast system at this school, its everywhere but seems worse here. They seem to promote exclusiveness not inclusiveness that you would think should be taught in a christian school. The bullying is horrible here for kids and nothing seems to be done about it. Where is God's love in that? Its sad. Not a Christian school, just christian teachers.

Posted: September 27, 2013

We, of course, have been very pleased with the education our son has been receiving at Dock. When thinking about what makes Dock UNIQUE, there are a few people that immediately come to mind. We feel that Dock is VERY blessed to have Mrs Hunsberger as Guidance Counselor. She is an extremely knowledgeable resource, as well as a compassionate and caring person. The Athletic Trainer, Megan, is a wonderful extension of the coaching and athletic staff. She truly knows her student athletes and is a great communicator to both parents and student. Lastly, the Science Department, specifically Mrs Adams, has been very supportive of Dock students who want to continue on with extracurricular Science Fair competitions in HS. All of these individuals mentioned above have gone above and beyond numerous times. We feel blessed that our son is able to attend Dock and we appreciate ALL he is experiencing in ALL areas of school.

Posted: September 24, 2013

My son has had an amazing experience at Dock. He has been encouraged to try so many different things like cooking, sculpting, singing, running, robotics and many more. Because it is a small school each kid has the opportunity to be involved in many different things. Most students who play sports are also involved in music, art or science activities. The teachers are very supportive and take time to get to know the students. The students are also very supportive and encouraging of each other. It is a wonderful atmosphere to encourage the students to grow into confident, responsible adults.

Posted: September 22, 2013

At Dock, we have grown to really appreciate the overall educational experience within a community that cares about the individual. The teachers have engaged in, supported and encouraged our children in academics, athletics and in their spiritual journey.

Posted: September 22, 2013

The overall theme to my son's years at Dock is the word "community". The sense of belonging is woven into all relationships from deep lifetime friendships to teachers and staff that value each student, building confidence and worth that is carried into the bigger community upon leaving Dock.

Posted: September 19, 2013

Both my son and daughter have attended and thrived at Christopher Dock Mennonite High School. They are eight years apart and their interests vary greatly yet the opportunities at Dock engaged each one at the root of their passions and interests. At first glance Dock is a beautiful campus. Looking closer, we discovered energetic and creative faculty members who became inspiring mentors to our teenaged children.

Posted: September 18, 2013

My children went to Dock and loved it. As a parent, I felt very welcome to engage with the faculty and administration. My questions were handled well and unlike at some larger public schools, I got answers. They take education seriously at Dock, but my kids both said that the faculty there was the real plus in creating an atmosphere where kids could stretch their minds and build character. Absolutely no complaints, and I would spend every penny to do it again for my kids.

Posted: September 18, 2013

An excellent school that successfully prepared me for college and my future life. Beautiful campus, knowledgeable staff, and a friendly atmosphere.

Posted: September 18, 2013

Christopher Dock did an incredible job preparing me for college. I was awarded academic scholarships to help pay for college and I felt much more prepared for the academic expectations compared to other students. I can't imagine having a better high school experience!

Posted: September 17, 2013

I am a Dock Alumni and also had three children graduate from Dock. I was very pleased with the educational experience that each of my children received at Dock. I appreciated the faculty and staff that created a community of faith that nurtured them during their high school years. They loved participating in sports and the touring choir was an outstanding experience for them.

Posted: September 10, 2013

Fantastic School! The academic rigor is that of a prep school, at half of the price. I was very impressed to see that Dock qualified for the National Robotics Competition in California again last year.

Posted: October 24, 2012

My time as a student here was amazing. I developed lifelong friendships that I still have to this day and it has been more than ten years since my time at Dock began. I was challenged academically, prepared for college, and prepared with lifelong skills and qualities that have been valued in the workplace. Dock offers something special that just cannot be obtained at a public school or really at many other private schools.

Posted: October 16, 2012

The fact that there were several negative reviews on one day (September 25th) leads me to believe that this was done by one individual with some type of grudge with this school. My experience there as a student was fantastic. The faculty is very involved in the students lives, and during my time there bullying never seemed to be an issue because the assistant principal keeps close tabs on the schools culture, atmosphere, and student life. Also, there are a tremendous amount of options for students to get involved in extra curricular activities outside of athletics. Dock has tremendous options in music, art, robotics club, and others I am sure that I am not aware of. The great thing about a smaller school like Dock is that students do have a chance to get involved which would not be the case for many of them in larger public schools where opportunities are not as common and highly selective. I personally didn't want to attend this school myself but I am glad that my parents made me try it because it ended up being the perfect place for me to be.

Posted: October 16, 2012

As a parent of Dock graduates who are now finished with college and beginning their careers, I can say that Dock provided excellent preparation for the demands of college. Both of my children completed high school with AP credits, strong writing skills, solid math and science backgrounds, sports experiences, love for the arts, and wonderful friends. These elements together gave them confidence and a set of skills that were essential for college and now for their careers.

Posted: September 26, 2012

I don't feel like my child was being prepared for college, many would argue this, but Dock is great for preparing the students who are planning on going to a small private or liberal arts college, not large universities or research schools. It seemed that all the teachers were far too relaxed about assignments all the time but would give mountains of homework. My son would not be learning at a fast pace, they are behind in academics. Also their are not that many extra car. activities, no FBLA or national clubs, just NHS. The teachers and administration were impossible to work with and my son felt we were paying fourteen grand a year for an unimpressive education. The school is so sheltered from the world that when you finally get out you have to adapt quickly to how school actually is. I pulled him out a few years ago and he graduated from his public school with a much more impressive transcript than dock could have ever offered him. This is not all their fault, they are a small non state funded school so they do not have the resources that other schools have. It is a good school for kids planning on keeping on the private school path, not for those planning on attended public.

Posted: September 24, 2012

The school was far behind with academics and the kids were not good at talking and making friend with the new kids- so if you have been in private school you will probably like it if not its not a great place

Posted: September 24, 2012

The campus is very beautiful and a good place for some students, but my son and his friends were completely turned away from the christian faith solely because of attending school here. The students were crueler than the public school kids he knew and they specialize in bullying. I'm pretty sure the school is very ignorant to this i have heard numerous horrible bullying stories, but the school continues to praise their students. That would be my main complaint

Posted: September 13, 2012

I graduated from a small public school that felt similar to Dock. There's an atmosphere at smaller schools that can't be replicated in schools with thousands of students. Some hate this (see posts) because they can't easily hide and their actions (good or bad) will not go unnoticed. Changing schools can be tough - was for me. I like knowing teachers engage my son in ways that challenge him academically, spiritually, and even make him uncomfortable so he'll grow up and learn to think for himself, articluate and defend his beliefs. As you can see by some reviews, High School is an emotional stage! (how did I survive?) My son is happy at Dock. Rather than a single building designed by the same people who build prisons, Dock has a college feel with multiple buildings and freedom to go outside between classes. My son feels respected and trusted, rather than having cameras and locks everywhere. I like that if, no, when my son does something stupid, he'll be held accountable in a restorative way instead of just hard rules and punishment. Some cannot be made happy no matter what, but I am grateful that my church helps me so I can send my children to a private christian school.

Posted: August 9, 2012

The only reason I am going to say I wish I didn't go here is because I met a few amazing people here, but other than that I regret going here. I regret having my parents give them money, and I regret wasting my time here instead of going somewhere better. The school is really big on being a "community" and that's fine, except the "community" is a little bubble from the world, a mennonite bubble. Teachers definitely pick favorites, and the mennonite kids don't get in trouble as much. I didn't go to Penn View so it was a lot harder to make friends, and the teachers are the most biased teachers I have ever heard, and some are anti american. Coming from public school- Dock was actually farther behind in History and there were barely any honors or AP classes. The kids who go here are awful, no matter what they say, I tried to fit in with them for the longest time and gave up. Since its such a small school even teachers know who is dating who, and when you get in trouble. I have to say the environment felt absolutely toxic and the school is becoming more money hungry as they are in debt. If you are coming from Public School please take what I said into consideration.

Posted: December 8, 2011

The majority of the students from this school come from upper middle class and upper class families (this is not an exaggeration, nor a bad thing necessarily.) I've noticed that the school is actively trying to give scholarships to students from economically disadvantaged families, however. They have roughly 10-15 students total from economically disadvantaged families that commute from Philadelphia. I've spent 4 years at Dock, and I've noticed that it has changed a lot since I began. Yes, cliques still exist, and the notorious "Penn View" crowd tends to hang around with each other for a while before branching out to other classmates. Not going to Penn View before coming to Dock, it was initially a challenge becoming friends with many new people. However, I am now a senior, and looking back, I can't think of a place I would have rather spent my high school years. I genuinely care for all my classmates, and everyone really gets along and has a great time together. The academics are challenging, but some teachers still do tend to put a little bit of a liberal twist on their lessons. But if you don't agree with them, it's perfectly fine, and it makes for excellent class discussion.